The present invention relates to a handling apparatus. FIG. 1 shows a schematic front view of a prior art handling apparatus. A pair of handling devices 1A and 1B includes movable frames 3A and 3B, arms 5A and which are reciprocatingly movable by drive means 4A and 4B and supported on the laterally movable frames 3A and 3B, and clampers 6A and 6B mounted on lower portions of the respective arms 5A and 5B. Pieces to be machined or processed are moved onto a base station 7 by the laterally movable frame 3A in the handling device 1A. Then, the arm 5A is lowered so that the clamper 6A is positioned at a clamping position to grip the uppermost piece 8 of the pieces 80 stacked on the base station 7. The arm clamping the uppermost piece 8 is lifted and moved to a machining station 9 by the frame 3A and the arm 5A is lowered to release the piece 8 onto the machining station 9. This operation is to be repeated for each piece to be moved. During the repeated operation, the total height of the stack of pieces 80 is gradually decreased by the clamper 6A.
To remove the machined pieces from the station 9, the handling device 1B is moved by the laterally movable frame 3B toward the machining station 9 and the arm 5B is lowered to clamp the piece 8 disposed on the machining station 9. Then, the arm 5B is lifted and moved in parallel by the laterally movable frame 3B to transfer the machined piece onto an opposed base station 10. The piece 8 clamped by the clamper 6B is disposed on the base station 10 or stacked upon other pieces as the arm is lowered to thereby release the piece 8. Such operation is also repeated. With this technique, the height at which each piece is released is gradually increased. Therefore, in such handling devices, the lower end levels of the arms 5A and 5B thereof must be changed as the height of the stack changes. For this reason, it is impossible to use a simple limit switch due to the continuous height variation. Instead, a very complicated controlling device for continuously varying the lower end levels of the arms 5A and 5B, for example, a memory and computer device operated in accordance with some drive means such as a servo-motor or the like is required resulting in an increase in cost. This problem is inherent in the above-noted conventional device.
Accordingly, in view of the above-described defects, an object of the present invention is to provide a low cost handling device.